Iraq’s Absentee Government

The New York Times has an interesting articleabout the problem of the Iraqi Parliament members not showing up for sessions.

They’re paid hansomly, with additional funds for security – and yet still do not bother to show up.

Some of Iraq’s more seasoned leaders say attendance has been undermined by a widening sense of disillusionment about Parliament’s ability to improve Iraqis’ daily life. The country’s dominant issue, security, is almost exclusively the policy realm of the American military and the office of the prime minister.

While a large part of the problems in Iraq are unquestionably security related – part of the problems might also be related to the fact that the Iraqis don’t feel like they have control over their own government. Even the Iraqi government doesn’t feel like it is in control. Maybe if the Parliament were allowed to make a difference the members would start taking it more seriously.